Football facilities and expansion

That is not what is being portrayed publicly and to investors (FSL Owners). Our chancellor has said that we wouldn’t expand ‘until he was dead and buried’ (paraphrasing) and our AD has been on record more recently as saying that we will not expand until we are able to fill our current stadium.

That is not what is being portrayed publicly and to investors (FSL Owners). Our chancellor has said that we wouldn’t expand ‘until he was dead and buried’ (paraphrasing) and our AD has been on record more recently as saying that we will not expand until we are able to fill our current stadium.[/quote]

I really think that just an announcement revealing potential future expansion plans will pump new excitement and interest into our football program. Of course that means extra work by our administrators. I doubt any of us want to jeopardize their 2 hour lunches.

That is not what is being portrayed publicly and to investors (FSL Owners). Our chancellor has said that we wouldn’t expand ‘[b]until he was dead and buried’ /b and our AD has been on record more recently as saying that we will not expand until we are able to fill our current stadium.[/quote]

That’s a fact, Jack!

That is not what is being portrayed publicly and to investors (FSL Owners). Our chancellor has said that we wouldn’t expand ‘[b]until he was dead and buried’ /b and our AD has been on record more recently as saying that we will not expand until we are able to fill our current stadium.[/quote]

That’s a fact, Jack![/quote]

This is what confuses/agitates me about all the expansion talk. Would I love to see the Rich expanded to 25k? Absolutely.

But, the school/AD aren’t going to do it until we are selling out (in terms of butts in the seats) the Rich on a regular basis. And the school/AD don’t seem to have any beyond-mininal-effort plans for selling out (in terms of butts in the seats) the Rich on a regular basis anytime soon.

App’s big win was on the road.
Michigan didn’t sign a return game to App…App had to play and win there.

Plus…they had 20k+ fan support BEFORE that win too.

App’s big win was on the road.
Michigan didn’t sign a return game to App…App had to play and win there.

Plus…they had 20k+ fan support BEFORE that win too.[/quote]

You don’t think beating Chapel Hill at home would kick start this program?

In 2003 App avg 14,600
In 2005 App avg 17,900
In 2007 App avg 25,000+

Have to have an opportunity for big wins to market a program. Since our AD can’t figure out how to market that leaves our coaches.

What is ya’ll’s solution? Just not do anything?

App’s big win was on the road.
Michigan didn’t sign a return game to App…App had to play and win there.

Plus…they had 20k+ fan support BEFORE that win too.[/quote]

You don’t think beating Chapel Hill at home would kick start this program?

In 2003 App avg 14,600
In 2005 App avg 17,900
In 2007 App avg 25,000+

Have to have an opportunity for big wins to market a program. Since our AD can’t figure out how to market that leaves our coaches.

What is ya’ll’s solution? Just not do anything?[/quote]

Not too many people realize App’s program was in pretty bad shape before that first FCS title. They lost to WCU the last game of 2004 and Jerry Moore was firmly on the hot seat.

[quote=“SteauA, post:414, topic:30091”][quote=“NinerWupAss, post:413, topic:30091”][quote=“SteauA, post:412, topic:30091”]Under current “leadership” and current AD and Univ. at wide marketing “efforts”, expanding the stadium would be the dumbest thing imaginable. We can’t even get within 1500 seats (on average) of selling out 6 home games in years 3 and 4 of existence. What’s the point of adding more seats just for the sake of doing it when we know that the school and the AD won’t make any effort to actually sell those seats and will just give excuses as to why people aren’t going?

There is none.[/quote]

IF and its a big IF, the current AD would expand the stadium the influx of marquee teams playing, as shown by the ones we have signed, are worth the investment. To build our brand we have to host these bigger names.[/quote]

With all due respect, I disagree. To build our brand, we need an AD that cares/tries.

What big names have ODU played that has resulted in their fan engagement/attendance success? I remember they played NC State at home once, outside of that it’s your marginal FBS programs like Eastern Michigan or UMass plus the C-USA crapalooza. They sell out 20,000 and have a waiting list for season tickets. We can’t sell out 15k more than once a year. That has very little to do with our opponents and 99.99% to do with our leadership.[/quote]

Actually they have very little (if any) waiting list now according to what I have read over the last year or 2.

App’s big win was on the road.
Michigan didn’t sign a return game to App…App had to play and win there.

Plus…they had 20k+ fan support BEFORE that win too.[/quote]

You don’t think beating Chapel Hill at home would kick start this program?

In 2003 App avg 14,600
In 2005 App avg 17,900
In 2007 App avg 25,000+

Have to have an opportunity for big wins to market a program. Since our AD can’t figure out how to market that leaves our coaches.

What is ya’ll’s solution? Just not do anything?[/quote]

Not too many people realize App’s program was in pretty bad shape before that first FCS title. They lost to WCU the last game of 2004 and Jerry Moore was firmly on the hot seat.[/quote]

This is exactly right. It seems that a lot of people think App has the really long history of great crowds and titles. That just really isn’t true, particularly the attendance numbers as Normbulance points about. The Michigan game was/is the main thing that got them noticed and jump-started them to whatever you think they are now. Similar to what the Steph Curry magic year did for Davidson. They are still living off of HIM.

That is not what is being portrayed publicly and to investors (FSL Owners). Our chancellor has said that we wouldn’t expand ‘[b]until he was dead and buried’ /b and our AD has been on record more recently as saying that we will not expand until we are able to fill our current stadium.[/quote]

That’s a fact, Jack![/quote]

This is what confuses/agitates me about all the expansion talk. Would I love to see the Rich expanded to 25k? Absolutely.

But, the school/AD aren’t going to do it until we are selling out (in terms of butts in the seats) the Rich on a regular basis. And the school/AD don’t seem to have any beyond-mininal-effort plans for selling out (in terms of butts in the seats) the Rich on a regular basis anytime soon.[/quote]

This is the wrong approach. 90% of schools do NOT sell out their stadiums for most games. You need enough seats to handle the largest projected crowds, not the average crowd.

[quote=“NinerWupAss, post:426, topic:30091”]You don’t think beating Chapel Hill at home would kick start this program?

In 2003 App avg 14,600
In 2005 App avg 17,900
In 2007 App avg 25,000+[/quote]

I’m just saying the background & circumstances of the 2 program’s are miles different. And what worked for them won’t necessarily work for us. One road football win against Michigan put fuel on a fire for them. It reignited fans from years past. Winning D2 titles, moving to FBS and continued winning (Conference titles and Bowl wins) has maintained that fire ever since.

That is completely different from having no history at all. We may could reignite our basketball fans with a big basketball win against a big basketball program…because we remember the good ol days and would come back in droves for a chance to re-live them again with a team we beieve could get us back there.

But football here is new and stuck in a bad conference and is already establishing a culture of disappointment. Couple that with our fairweather fanbase and it would take a lot more than one win to turn things around here. As an example…I believe we were the 1st team in CUSA history to beat Marshall & Southenrn Miss on the road in the same season and our fans responded by showing up less!!

I’m not sure what the answer is…outside of new leadership and a major change in the culture of the athletic dept as a whole.

I’ve followed & supported this University athletically for over 25yrs and I can’t stand to watch us live anymore because I expect to be embarrassed. A close loss is a win for me now. So what does the “casual” fan think if I think that way? And the “casual” fan is the one we have to win over. It will take more than one win to do that for them…and even for me.

Complete culture change is the path to changing anything regarding our fan support.

Thinking about it…Judy’s “Manage Expectations” mantra is the root cause of everything that is piss poor about our entire athletics dept and fan support.

App has created a culture of “High Expectations” not “Managed Expectations”…that’s why they sell tickets. Their fans show up in droves because they “Expect” to see them to win. The coaches expect to win…so do the players…so does the administration. Their fans gladly show up to support a program with “High Expectations” that “expects” to win.

And here in Charl[size=2]otte, [font=Verdana]we have created a culture of “managed expectations” where a close loss is a win and blowout losses are expected (now in both main sports). Who the fu&$ wants to show up for that? See attendance numbers falling for both sports to support that claim.[/font][/size]

How can someone not see the sleeping giant here? How can we not get someone to come in energized to lead us? We need someone to come in with an attitude and the swagger that refuses to accept mediocrity in athletics…especially considering…
We have almost a 30K enrollment
We are located in the 15th largest city in America
We boast a top 20 TV market

But no. We currently have the “Managed Expectations” culture fitting of Campbell University or High Point.

Thinking about it…Judy’s “Manage Expectations” mantra is the root cause of everything that is piss poor about our entire athletics dept and fan support.

App has created a culture of “High Expectations” not “Managed Expectations”…that’s why they sell tickets. Their fans show up in droves because they “Expect” to see them to win. The coaches expect to win…so do the players…so does the administration. Their fans gladly show up to support a program with “High Expectations” that “expects” to win.

And here in Charl[size=1em]otte, [font=verdana]we have created a culture of “managed expectations” where a close loss is a win and blowout losses are expected (now in both main sports). Who the fu&$ wants to show up for that? See attendance numbers falling for both sports to support that claim.[/font][/size]

How can someone not see the sleeping giant here? How can we not get someone to come in energized to lead us? We need someone to come in with an attitude and the swagger that refuses to accept mediocrity in athletics…especially considering…
We have almost a 30K enrollment
We are located in the 15th largest city in America
We boast a top 20 TV market

But no. We currently have the “Managed Expectations” culture fitting of Campbell University or High Point.[/quote]

High Point doesn’t even have that.

I agree with total culture change. I just know we have to wait for that and if there are things we can do now, that coaches can do, then we need to do it.

Thinking about it…Judy’s “Manage Expectations” mantra is the root cause of everything that is piss poor about our entire athletics dept and fan support.

App has created a culture of “High Expectations” not “Managed Expectations”…that’s why they sell tickets. Their fans show up in droves because they “Expect” to see them to win. The coaches expect to win…so do the players…so does the administration. Their fans gladly show up to support a program with “High Expectations” that “expects” to win.

And here in Charl[size=2]otte, [font=Verdana]we have created a culture of “managed expectations” where a close loss is a win and blowout losses are expected (now in both main sports). Who the fu&$ wants to show up for that? See attendance numbers falling for both sports to support that claim.[/font][/size]

How can someone not see the sleeping giant here? How can we not get someone to come in energized to lead us? We need someone to come in with an attitude and the swagger that refuses to accept mediocrity in athletics…especially considering…
We have almost a 30K enrollment
We are located in the 15th largest city in America
We boast a top 20 TV market

But no. We currently have the “Managed Expectations” culture fitting of Campbell University or High Point.[/quote] Please. App sucks in every sport not called football and have zero support for any other sport. Also, they do not come out in “droves”. Look at the numbers and look at the stands for many of their football games. Better than us, but not THAT much better.

Thinking about it…Judy’s “Manage Expectations” mantra is the root cause of everything that is piss poor about our entire athletics dept and fan support.

App has created a culture of “High Expectations” not “Managed Expectations”…that’s why they sell tickets. Their fans show up in droves because they “Expect” to see them to win. The coaches expect to win…so do the players…so does the administration. Their fans gladly show up to support a program with “High Expectations” that “expects” to win.

And here in Charl[size=2]otte, [font=Verdana]we have created a culture of “managed expectations” where a close loss is a win and blowout losses are expected (now in both main sports). Who the fu&$ wants to show up for that? See attendance numbers falling for both sports to support that claim.[/font][/size]

How can someone not see the sleeping giant here? How can we not get someone to come in energized to lead us? We need someone to come in with an attitude and the swagger that refuses to accept mediocrity in athletics…especially considering…
We have almost a 30K enrollment
We are located in the 15th largest city in America
We boast a top 20 TV market

But no. We currently have the “Managed Expectations” culture fitting of Campbell University or High Point.[/quote] Please. App sucks in every sport not called football and have zero support for any other sport. Also, they do not come out in “droves”. Look at the numbers and look at the stands for many of their football games. Better than us, but not THAT much better.[/quote]
Their attendance is >80% more than ours.

Thinking about it…Judy’s “Manage Expectations” mantra is the root cause of everything that is piss poor about our entire athletics dept and fan support.

App has created a culture of “High Expectations” not “Managed Expectations”…that’s why they sell tickets. Their fans show up in droves because they “Expect” to see them to win. The coaches expect to win…so do the players…so does the administration. Their fans gladly show up to support a program with “High Expectations” that “expects” to win.

And here in Charl[size=2]otte, [font=Verdana]we have created a culture of “managed expectations” where a close loss is a win and blowout losses are expected (now in both main sports). Who the fu&$ wants to show up for that? See attendance numbers falling for both sports to support that claim.[/font][/size]

How can someone not see the sleeping giant here? How can we not get someone to come in energized to lead us? We need someone to come in with an attitude and the swagger that refuses to accept mediocrity in athletics…especially considering…
We have almost a 30K enrollment
We are located in the 15th largest city in America
We boast a top 20 TV market

But no. We currently have the “Managed Expectations” culture fitting of Campbell University or High Point.[/quote] Please. App sucks in every sport not called football and have zero support for any other sport. Also, they do not come out in “droves”. Look at the numbers and look at the stands for many of their football games. Better than us, but not THAT much better.[/quote]
Their attendance is >80% more than ours.[/quote]
It’s one year and it was up from 21,000 last year. That was much more typical for them and in a really good season. It also includes a ton of Miami fans for one game which brought the average up this year by 2000+. Given their history, out drawing us for most games by 6-7000 isn’t really all that impressive.

Thinking about it…Judy’s “Manage Expectations” mantra is the root cause of everything that is piss poor about our entire athletics dept and fan support.

App has created a culture of “High Expectations” not “Managed Expectations”…that’s why they sell tickets. Their fans show up in droves because they “Expect” to see them to win. The coaches expect to win…so do the players…so does the administration. Their fans gladly show up to support a program with “High Expectations” that “expects” to win.

And here in Charl[size=1em]otte, [font=verdana]we have created a culture of “managed expectations” where a close loss is a win and blowout losses are expected (now in both main sports). Who the fu&$ wants to show up for that? See attendance numbers falling for both sports to support that claim.[/font][/size]

How can someone not see the sleeping giant here? How can we not get someone to come in energized to lead us? We need someone to come in with an attitude and the swagger that refuses to accept mediocrity in athletics…especially considering…
We have almost a 30K enrollment
We are located in the 15th largest city in America
We boast a top 20 TV market

But no. We currently have the “Managed Expectations” culture fitting of Campbell University or High Point.[/quote] Please. App sucks in every sport not called football and have zero support for any other sport. Also, they do not come out in “droves”. Look at the numbers and look at the stands for many of their football games. Better than us, but not THAT much better.[/quote]
Their attendance is >80% more than ours.[/quote]
It’s one year and it was up from 21,000 last year. That was much more typical for them and in a really good season. It also includes a ton of Miami fans for one game which brought the average up this year by 2000+. Given their history, out drawing us for most games by 6-7000 isn’t really all that impressive.[/quote]

clt says appy doesn’t actually count fans. You can walk up and get into the stadium.

Thinking about it…Judy’s “Manage Expectations” mantra is the root cause of everything that is piss poor about our entire athletics dept and fan support.

App has created a culture of “High Expectations” not “Managed Expectations”…that’s why they sell tickets. Their fans show up in droves because they “Expect” to see them to win. The coaches expect to win…so do the players…so does the administration. Their fans gladly show up to support a program with “High Expectations” that “expects” to win.

And here in Charl[size=1em]otte, [font=verdana]we have created a culture of “managed expectations” where a close loss is a win and blowout losses are expected (now in both main sports). Who the fu&$ wants to show up for that? See attendance numbers falling for both sports to support that claim.[/font][/size]

How can someone not see the sleeping giant here? How can we not get someone to come in energized to lead us? We need someone to come in with an attitude and the swagger that refuses to accept mediocrity in athletics…especially considering…
We have almost a 30K enrollment
We are located in the 15th largest city in America
We boast a top 20 TV market

But no. We currently have the “Managed Expectations” culture fitting of Campbell University or High Point.[/quote] Please. App sucks in every sport not called football and have zero support for any other sport. Also, they do not come out in “droves”. Look at the numbers and look at the stands for many of their football games. Better than us, but not THAT much better.[/quote]
Their attendance is >80% more than ours.[/quote]
It’s one year and it was up from 21,000 last year. That was much more typical for them and in a really good season. It also includes a ton of Miami fans for one game which brought the average up this year by 2000+. Given their history, out drawing us for most games by 6-7000 isn’t really all that impressive.[/quote]
Let’s go off 2015 then. We get a 3% bump since we lost that much this season (yes, the 9th worst in attendance lost butts) and App will go back down 22%.

Charlotte: 14,618
App: 21,459

Delta: 6,841 (or 46.8% more).

You are delusional if you think that isn’t a big deal. 6841 fans more, every game.

Let’s say on average they bought a $20 ticket, 3 fans per car to the game paying $12 a pass, and each fan bought on average $5 of food/drink/merchandise. Through the season, 6 games.

(6841*$20+6841*$5+(6841/3)*$12)*6 = $1.2 Million

That doesn’t even include the perception that your school gains, chances at TV games, recruiting, etc.

If you are curious on this years dollars, the 11,961 extra butts per seat, per game. It’s an almost $2.1 million difference.

I have solved the problem. 2.1 million divided by 30,000 students equates to ONLY a $70 per year increase in student fees for each student.

[quote=“TRLeader, post:432, topic:30091”]How can someone not see the sleeping giant here? How can we not get someone to come in energized to lead us? We need someone to come in with an attitude and the swagger that refuses to accept mediocrity in athletics…especially considering…
We have almost a 30K enrollment
We are located in the 15th largest city in America
We boast a top 20 TV market
[/quote]

QFT